[continuing from previous posts here, here and here]
In order for someone to know whether one is truly saved, there are a few marks which would so indicate the person's salvation. These marks make up part of the fruit of the Spirit, indicated by passages like Mt. 7:19-20. As fruits, there are not in any way meritorious for salvation, but they are the results thereof.
So what are the marks of a true Christian? How can one be certain of his salvation? Definitely we have seen earlier that a person who is truly saved would remain forever saved, kept and preserved by Christ through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and I will return to this point later on also. The question thus now to be tackled is how does one know if s/he has faith in Jesus Christ and has believed in Him. This question is thus especially pertinent for new believers, who would especially need the assurance that God has indeed kept His word and save them from the wrath due their sins.
The Bible does give us certain practical guidelines as to how a new convert, and also those who have been Christians for some time, can know that they are truly Christians. Since regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3: 5-8), and we know that there may be false brethren in our midst even (Acts 20:30; 1 Jn. 2:19), it is not anyone's job to give anyone assurances of their salvation, since we DO NOT know and thus CANNOT judge anyone's heart and therefore their salvation, unless the evidences are so obvious (knowing embrace of heresy, apostasy, denial of the faith, conversion to another religion etc.). Therefore, for most normal people, we are not allowed to judge their salvation, and this would definitely include judging whether they are saved or not. [What we can only do is judge their profession of faith —whether they say that they believe that Jesus if God etc., and upon this profession of faith, we are to regard them as brethren in the Lord.] Since giving false assurances of salvation has very serious consequences, what we only can do is to show them the signs of a true Christian and let their conscience either acquit them or condemn them (Rom. 2:15); to know for themselves whether they are saved or whether they are not yet saved.
With this said, let us look at the signs of true conversion, as seen primarily in Acts 2:37-38; 41-46, and exposited in the booklet Seven Certain Signs of True Conversion by Peter Masters1, of which I will only summarize the points here.
The first sign is a conviction of sin. True believers will always be convicted of their sins, and know that before the Lord, they are as nothing before Him. They see His holiness and feel exceedingly sinful. Their hearts are broken over their sin and they always repent of them. Thus, for new believers, are they broken and contrite over their sin? Have they repented and continue on repenting of their sins before the Lord? For Christians who may doubt their salvation, is that caused by the increasing realisation of your sinfulness? Is it because you know you have sinned, and perhaps even greviously, such that you are afraid that God would not forgive you? Despair not, for the fact of the matter is that, as you produce godly sorrow over your sin, you show that you are His. Paradoxically, those who realize their great sinfulness are the ones who should be the most assured of their salvation, because the Lord has promised, He who never changes His mind, that forgiveness of sin and eternal life will be given to all who repent of their sins (Acts 2:37). And He is the Glory of Israel will absolutely make good on His promise.
Of course, sorrow for sins are not sufficient in and of themselves. Sorrow must be godly sorrow and not worldly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:10). The difference is that godly sorrow is sorrow over disobeying God whereas wordly sorrow is only the experience of sorrow because the person does not want to go to hell.
The second sign is that the person can understand the Scriptures. Yes, the Scriptures are written in English (or whatever language your Bible is written in) and it is not esoteric, having hidden tones in them. In theological speak, the Scriptures are perspicuis. You do not need to be a professor to understand the Scriptures. What this sign is saying is not that the truly regenerated person cannot understand the Scriptures before and now he can, but that the truly regenerated person can now believe in the Scriptures. Whereas before, all unbelievers will never to able to understand the logic of Scripture (after all, how stupid is the idea of God dying like a criminal to save Man), now as believers they can understand the logic of Scripture. As it is written,
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18)
Note especially the word 'folly'. Unbelievers are able to intellectually grasp the truth of Scripture if they so wish to, but it would be as foolishness to them, unless they repent and turn to Christ.
Therefore, for new believers, do they have a new found understanding of the Word of God? For all, are we able to grasp the reasonableness of Scripture, to see its truth as truth? If so, then you are truly of Christ.
One word of caution here: Having a new found understanding of Scripture and loving the Word of God does not necessarily mean that a true Christian will never interpret Scripture wrongly, nor that he must immediately understand everything there is to know about the Scriptures. Just because you may make certain errors in interpreting the Scripture does not make you an unbeliever!
The third sign of true conversion is the feeling of kinship with fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. As stated in 1 Jn. 3:14 also, the presence of the feeling of kinship and love towards other Christians marks one out to be of Christ. To check whether this love is genuinely from God, do not check whether you love your friends and family who are Christians, (though if you hated them before, that could be valid), since it could be normal family and friendship phileo love. Do we love Christians whom we don't know? Do we have a strong desire to be with the people of God, even if they are strangers? Yes, we are weak, but is there some form of love for the brethren, however inperfect it may be? If you have that, it is a sign that you are truly a Christian.
The forth sign of true conversion is that of a personal discovery and delight in prayer. As we are saved, we are adopted into God's family, and we thus have this desire to talk and commune with God. As Gal. 4:6 tells us, we who are saved will have the spirit within us crying "Abba Father!" This is especially so in the early stages of our walk with Christ. Therefore, for new converts, are they having this desire to spend time with God? For older converts, they may neglect this, especially if their love grow cold. However, was there ever a time where you had such desire and delight in communing with God, such sweet communion with Him? Is there still a desire in you that loves to talk to Him, who is the joy and delight of our souls? If there is, then we are most likely saved in Him. Of course, for those who are have hearts that are cold, we must need repent and return to our first love (Rev. 2:4-5).
The fifth sign (which I think actually should be the first sign as it is the most important) is that of a new heart. Those who turn to Christ are a new creature; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). The believers, whether new or not, has been transformed. Obviously, this is not to say that suddenly, the believer becomes perfect, or is without sin, or necessarily that the believer will experience breakthrough in certain pet sins, but that the believer has new priorities in life. We have a new master and Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ and we live to serve and obey Him. Our ultimate motive is for the glory of our Lord, and whatever we do, we seek above all to please Him. Of course, believers could over time lose their first love, but the initial love for Christ must be there, and as with the forth point, they are to repent and turn back to their first love.
The sixth point is an initial measure of assurance of salvation, which Eph. 1:13 and 2 Cor. 1:22 speaks of. As Masters put it succintly:
We have no right to expect new-born babes in Christ to have enormous certainty and complete assurance, but we do expect to see the seal. ... It is God's maker of ownership impressed upon the believer In every true conversion the Holy Spirit will place His authenticating seal upon His work. (p. 13-14)
Of course, however, there may be true believers who may not have such a strong sense of certainty of their salvation, and for them they would need to seek it. In the meantime, they could check for the presence of the other signs which have been mentioned so far.
The seventh, and last, sign is the experience of attacks of Satan. Satan does not attack one of his with doubts over their salvation, because they are not saved. Allow me to quote Masters once more:
True converts, ..., are no longer in Satan's stronghold. They have been emancipated, and so for them, a great battle has begun. They now 'wrestle... against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world' (Eph. 6:12). ...
Satan's strategy will vary. One moment he will plague the young believer with doubts about the Christian faith. Another moment he will switch his attack 'O yes,' he will say, 'it is all true! The Bible is true, the faith is true; salvation is true; but you are not converted. You are deluded!' Sooner or later the believer will fall into sin and the devil will seize this opportunity to press home the accusation — 'How could you possibly be a child of God?'
The very fact that young believers may be worried about whether they are truly saved is itself an evidence of conversion. If they are genuine Christians, then the state of their souls is the most important matter in their lives. (p. 15-16. Bold added)
We can thus see that the attacks of Satan are itself an evidence of conversion. The part in bold above should be always emphasized. If someone is worried over their salvation, chances are they are truly saved. Unbelievers & reprobates DO not worry about their salvation. Yes, the more contemplative type may worry about where they would go after they die, but they will not care one bit whether they are right with God. Thus, doubts about salvation, as long as the person is worried whether s/he is right with God, is actually in itself a proof that the person is saved, and thus should stop worrying over his/her salvation, as long as s/he has done all that is commanded to do (i.e. repent of sins, receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior) and has in some measure or the full, fulfilled the other signs of true conversion.
With that said, let us return to the basis of our assurance of salvation, which is in the fact that Christ has made full 100% purchase of our salvation on our behalf.
[to be continued]
References:
[1] Peter Masters, Seven Certain Signs of True Conversion, Sword & Trowel, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Elephant & Castle, London SE1 6SD
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